Friday, March 02, 2007

Botched Funeral

What a despicable thing to do:

State regulators have revoked the license of a funeral home owner they say failed to properly prepare the body of a decorated military veteran whose remains were found shrouded by little more than a bloody covering in the casket.

***

The board said that at the Oct. 17, 2005 funeral, Williams refused to open the casket for viewing, even though Helen White had paid for an open-casket visitation. Her husband was a former Marine awarded two Purple Hearts during the Vietnam War. When she insisted on an open casket, Williams let her view the body briefly after the service.

The body was found wrapped in a stained sheet or blanket and was not wearing the suit that Williams had provided, the board said. His face lacked makeup and appeared swollen.

***

When Helen White demanded that Williams let her find another funeral home, Williams drove off with the body and disappeared, according to police and the report.

Police later found the body at the mortuary and another funeral director properly prepared White's body for public viewing.


There is low, and then there is really low. I'd say this qualifies as the latter.